Manufacturers laud govt on value-addition initiatives, say it is stimulating food processing sector

More businesses are expected to venture in the food processing sector and produce value-added products, Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) has said.

This is due to the incentives provided for by the government in this year’s budget which encourages value addition.

In the 2023 National Budget, the government extended the local content allowance at the rate of two percent, for income tax purposes to encourage value addition to tomatoes.

ZAM Administrative Assistant Nadia Chikoti, said providing such incentives to local products had the potential to attract more investment in the food processing sector.

Chikoti said this would encourage businesses to venture into the production of value-added products such as tomato paste and fruit juices in the domestic economy with a surplus exported to other countries.

“We have seen the government’s commitment to supporting value addition in the country through the provision of incentives that encourage businesses to add value to local products.

“This was an add-on to other products that already enjoy such incentives such as pineapples, cassava, and mangoes,” she said in her write up on Promoting Value-Addition for Manufacturing Industry Growth on Monday.

Chikoti also said this may result in the creation of jobs as well as an improvement in the standard of living for the people.

Additionally, she stated, the government would be able to derive benefits such as increased foreign exchange earnings resulting from the exportation of surplus products.

“The government should be commended for taking measures to provide incentives that encourage value addition to selected products such as tomatoes, mangoes, pineapples, and cassava,” she said.

Chikoti however suggested that government should be more inclusive and extend the incentives to other equally important sub-sectors such as leather and leather products, wood products, textiles and garments, and soya beans.

WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR!